Sprinkler



Jan. 3, 1950 P. c. CROWDER 2,493,528

SYRINKLER Filed Nov. 5, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet l wimp -1 lNVENTOR. P/WL C. cwowoew Jan. 3, 1950 P. c. CROWDER SPRINKLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed N09. 5, 1945 g N KN mm w av W INV TOR. p/u/z CZCWOWQER Jan. 3; 1950 P.- c. CROWDER SPRINKLER I 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 5, 1945 uvmvron I 40! c: amour Jan. 3, 1950 Filed Nov. 5, 1945 v P. c. CROWDER SPRINKLER 4 Sheets-Sheet; 4

1 INVENTOR.

PAUL 0, crown-'1? Patented Jan. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,493,528 SPRINKLER Paul C. Crowder, Sahara Village, Utah Application November 5, 1945, Serial No. 626,703

2 Claims. (01. 29950) 1 This invention relates to a lawn sprinkler and Q it is one object of the invention to provide a sprinkler which is of such construction that it may be caused to travel across a lawn or between rows of growing plants in a garden and the lawn or garden sprinkled without use of a motor for imparting movement to the carriage. It will thus be seen that there will be no motor to become damaged by water and also that gasoline or other fuel is not necessary to operate the sprinkler.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler wherein water is discharged from arms radiating from the upper end of the tubular post or shaft rotatably mounted in vertical position, the shaft serving to rotate a gear carrying ratchet bars which engage ratchet wheels mounted at a side of a drive wheel for the carriage of the sprinkler. It will thus be seen that the tubular shaft carrying the arms of the sprinkler not only serves as a sprinkler shaft but also as a shaft from which rotary movement is imparted to the drive wheel of the carriage and the sprinkler will be driven by water power.

Another object of the invention is to so mount the ratchet bars that they may be adjusted radially of a disc to which they are pivoted and thus control the speed at which the apparatus moves forwardly.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for shutting off flowof water after the sprinkler has moved forwardly a predetermined distance and thus allow the sprinkler to be automatically brought to a stop when it has travelled forwardly across a lawn or field.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler including a reel upon which hose is wound and gradually unwound .as the sprinkler moves forwardly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler which may have a front wheel or castor secured in a set position and cause the sprinkler to travel forwardly in a. straight path or in a circular path.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wheeled and self-propelled sprinkler which is of simple construction and very efllcient in operation.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved sprinkler.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the sprinkler.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the sprinkler.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Fig. 5 is a view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6--8 of Figure 2.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 1-1 of Figure 6 with parts in elevation.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken longitudinally through the valve for controlling flow of water.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of Figure 1.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the manner in which the front wheel or caster is mounted.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line ll-H of Figure 10.

This improved sprinkler has a carriage including the construction longitudinally extending bars i having upwardly curved front end portions 2 between which is mounted a bearing 3 to receive the post 4 of forks 5 carrying a wheel 6. This front wheel is formed as a. castor so that it may be set to guide forward movement of the sprinkler in a straight line or along a circular path. The axle l of the front wheel protrudes from the forks 5 and about the projecting ends of the axle are engaged the forks 8 of a tongue 9 which is provided so that the sprinkler may be drawn forwardly either manually or by a truck or other vehicle to a lawn or field to be sprinkled.

The front wheel or castor must be held in a set position in order to cause the sprinkler to move in a straight line or follow a circular path and in order to do so there has been provided an arm or pointer l0 which is firmly secured to the upper end of the post 4 by a screw l l and projects rearwardly over the post over a plate [2. The plate i2 extends horizontally with its front end mounted about the neck l3 of the bearing 3 and its rear end portion supported upon a block I. A screw I 5 having a winged head at its upper end passes through the rear portion of the pointer and through an arcuate slot l6 formed transversely of the plate It and is screwed into a socket i1 formed in the block M and when the screw is tightened the parts will be held in a set position to cause the sprinkler to move forwardly in a straight line or follow' a circular path. By observing tlfe relation of the pointer to the scale l8 the direction in which the sprinkler will move forwardly may be determined.

A tubular shaft or axle l9 extends transversely across the rear end portion of the frame and is nanny mounted of. Wheels :2

the bars i and also 3 through rear end ortions of" rotatably mounted through the rear end portion of a' bar which has "aw portion 2i extending diasonally' at'aforward incline and secured against one of the bars i'rearv wardly of the upwardly curvedfportion 3 thereand 33 are carried by the axle or shaft, the wheel 33 being fixed to the shaft; and serving as a drive wheel for the sprinkler and the wheel 23 being loose on the shaft so that turns may be readily made when'towing the sprinkler or driving it in a circular path. Ratchet wheels 24 and 23 are fixedly secured to the shaft l3 and engaged by the hooked rear ends of ratchet bars 23 and 21 which extend longitudinally of the frame between the bars land have their front ends pivotally connected with disks 23 and 23 so that when the disks are turned withthe'shaft 30 carrying them the ratchet bars or elongated parts 33 and 21 will be reciprocated and the bills or hooks at their rear ends will alternately have operative engagement wheels 24 and 25 and one impart forward turning movement to the shaft l3 while the other is moving forwardly into position for pulling engagement with its companion ratchet wheel when it moves forwardly. A worm gear 3! is fixedly carried by the shaft 33 and meshes with a worm 32 carried by a vertically extending rotatably mounted tubular shaft or pipe section 33 which is held in the upright position by a bracing bar 34 having a bearing 33 "at its upper'or rear end through which the shaft 33 passes, As the tubular shaft Or pipe section 33 turns rotary movement will be transmitted to the shaft 30 and the bars 23 and 21 reciprocated to alternately turn the ratchet wheels 24 and 2 and rotate the shaft l3. Each of the ratchet bars has its front end connected with the companion disk by a screw or pin 38 screwed into one ofthe openings 31 formed in a row extending radially of the disk and by changing the pins to a selected set of openings 31 longitudinal movement of the ratchet bars may be controlled and the speed at which the carriage moves forwardly regulated.

In order to supply water to the sprinkler there has been provided a hdse 38 which is wound about the shaft is between disks 39-and has its inner end connected with a couplin'gdfl. The outer end of the hose is equipped with a "coupling for connection with a spigot of a water supply pipe and as the sprinkler-moves forwardly the hosewill be unwound from the reel formed by the shaft I9 and the disks 39. While the hose has been shown wound about the shaft is for only a portion of the distance between the disks 33 it will be understood that it may occupy the entire length of the shaft between the disks and also may have as many layers as necessary accord-- ing to the length of the hose.. A suitable coupling connects the shaft I! with a pipe line 4| hav- A latch" II is pivoted toabracket 32 carried by the valvefeasing and has a handle or lever arm 33" held engagement .with an abutment pin '34 on the bracketwhen the outer end of the valve stem \isjinabuttingengagement with the latch l'ito hold'the valve opera.

7 A'pipe "extends from the outer end of the valve'casing and the outer or front end of this pipe 53 is connected with a coupling 53 carrying an upstanding nipple 31 which is held in the lower end of the tubular shaft 33 by a bracket with teeth of the ratchet having at its rear end a law 34 in theaded en-' 33' and constitutes a bearing for the lower end ofthe tubular shaft. Water which flows upwardly through the shaft 33 enters a head 39 at the upper end thereof and flows outwardly through tubular arms 33 carrying nozzles 3| which are bent lateralhr so that as water is discharged from the nomles push will be exerted and the arms swung in a circular path and rotate the shaft "33. It will thusjbe seen that the water will be discharged-in a circular spray covering a large area of ground and the shaft 33 rotated so that forward movement will be imparted to the carriage. By shifting the nozzles 31 longitudinally of the arms 30 the combined length of the arms and their nomles may be adjusted and the speed at which the shaft 33 is turned controlled' Thewater serves to sprinkle a'lawn or garden and also serves to drive the shaft 33 and no other motor need be provided for driving the sprinkler forwardly.

After the sprinkler has traveled-from one side of a lawn or garden to the other in a-straight path it should be brought to a stop. In order that this may be automatically done there has been provided an arm 32 slidably along a rod.

33' extending transversely of the carriage and gagement with a threaded shaft 35. The shaft an is rotatably mounted through the bar 20 and the inner bar i and at one end carries a gear 86 meshing with a gear 3'! carried by the tubular shaft l3 and as the shaft It turns rotary mo- 4 tion will be transmitted to the shaft 63 and the ing a portion 42 extending transversely of the carriage and connected with'a valve 43 valve has its casing divided-by a partition 44 to provide chambers 45 and" which communi-- arm or pointer 32 moved transversely of the carriage with its free front end moving along a bar 33 having its upper face marked with a scale indicating distances in feet, or other linear measurements. When the sprinkler is to be operated the arm is shifted to dispose its front end at the scale marking of bar 33 representing the width of a lawn or garden to be watered and in Figure 2 this distance will be one hundred feet; As the sprinkler moves forwardly the arm will be moved by the threaded shaft 85 until it reaches the lever or handle 31 of the latch 5i and apply pressure to this lever to swing the latch 3i about its pivot and eventually move the latch out of engagement with the rearwardly bent end of the valve stem 43. The spring 50 will then shift the stem longitudinally and the valve head 45 will close the opening 41 and shut off flow of water through the valve casing and the pipe 35. The shaft will then cease to turn and the sprinkler will come to a stop. The sprinkler may then be returned to the side of the lawn or garden from which it started and thehose and at its inner end carries a valve head 45 which is moved to a closed position blocking the opening 41 when the valve stem is urged-outwardly to close the valve by a spring 49 coiled about the valve stem and having one end anchored to the head of the valve casing'and its jother. end con-- nected with the valve stem as shown in-Flgure 8. 73 mounted transversely of the carriage, and a pipe be again started across the lawn or garden for another sprinkling operation.

Having thus described the invention, what is Q claimed is:

rear wheels carried by a tubular shaftvrotatably mouse longitudinally of the shaft by rotalatch to move the latch to a releasing pofltion permitting closing of the valve to shut wheels carried by a transversely of the carriage and mounted, a pe line for delivering water from the tubular shaft; a valve in the pipe line normally closed, shlrtch for releasably holding tier; '2 file of this patent:

va ve open, a eaded shaft rotatably moun transversely of the carriage in front of the tu- UNITED STATES PAW bular shaft, gears carried by the tubular shaft and Number Name Date the threaded shaft and meshing for transmit- 224,350 Stauft Mar. 31, 1908- ting rotation from the tubular shaft to the 8 1,858,202 'Jones Feb. I. 1928 threaded shaft, a rod extending transversely of 1,744,520 Blitz Jan. 21, 1930 the carria in front of the threaded shaft, an 1,919,703 Nielsen July 25, 1933 arm slidable along said rod and having a. 2,152,425 Nilson Mar. 28, 1939 threaded member at its rear end for engaging 2,228,428 Wilson Jan. 14, 1241 threaded shaft into position for en- 6 the threaded shaft and shifting the arm tranlversely of the carriage into position for engaging the latch and moving the latch to a releasing position permitting closing of the valve when the threaded shaft is rotating, and a bar extendin transversely of the carriage and overlapped by the arm, distance markings thereon whereby the arm may be shifted along the rod to a predetermined distance marking bar and then engaged with the for movement transversely of the carriage into position for engaging the latch and moving the latch to the said position to release the valve for permitting closing thereof to shut of! flow of water.

PAUL C. CHOWDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

